Jon Boden « Folk Witness So. Farewell then Spiers & Boden Last week, Folk Witness snapper Simon and I went to the Ropetackle Centre to see Spiers & Boden on their farewell tour. For a goodbye, it was a pretty cheerful affair. Jon Boden introduced the gig as “our first farewell tour”, which immediately dispelled any notion that we weren’t going to see him perform with John Spiers again.Of course, we’ll be seeing (probably quite a lot of) them as part of Bellowhead – their 22-legged big band – who are aiming for big things with their new album, Revival, this year. Spiers & Boden say their farewells at the Ropetackle Centre. Photo: Simon Rogers The gig featured a reasonably heavy bias towards stuff the boys have arranged for Bellowhead – which (promisingly) went down a treat with the crowd, and perhaps reflected their necessary devotion to that project. We’ll miss the duo’s surprising loudness, fine solo spots and the raucous singalongs to Bold Sir Rylas – but we’ll also look forward to the reunion – and perhaps, one day, a second farewell tour.

I wrote a proper review of the Ropetackle gig for The Argus, here . You can see a full gallery of Simon Rogers’ excellent photos of the show here, at the Folk Witness Facebook page . Give us a like while you’re there, and don’t forget you can follow us on Twitter , too. Bellowhead, Billy Bragg, Karine Polwart: Kew Gardens, London, July 14 2013 What better sound, as you walk into a leafy and quiet Kew Gardens , could greet you than the Karine Polwart trio’s gentle, cinematic hum? We arrive as she’s introducing Cover Your Eyes, her iron-fist-velvet-glove riposte to Donald Trump and his Aberdeenshire golf course aberration. The song, and the setting, is beautiful. Billy Bragg and band at Kew the Music. Photo: Simon Rogers The cold, unforgiving dune system Polwart (who Folk Witness interviewed last year ) describes in the song is squarely at odds with the scene in front of us.

A golden summer’s day is coming to an end, and a relaxed ‘Kew the Music’ audience, divided somewhat strangely into a series of pens, are picnicking on the drying grass. Kew’s series of shows are sponsored by John Lewis – so the standard of eating is pretty good (during Tears for Lot’s Wife, a nice lady offers me some cheese, which doesn’t happen very often at gigs): “Who’s got the poshest picnic?” asks Polwart. Champagne and Pimm’s are mentioned as arbiters of swank, before guitarist Steven Polwart chips in: “Anyone got any Irn-Bru?” Maybe not. Still, the trio find ways to relate to the audience – We’re All Leaving, about Charles Darwin’s struggle to cope with the loss of his daughter, has a certain resonance, given the botanical location. And it’s hard not to get swept along with the optimism of Rivers Run. But it’s the group’s finale that really soars. King of Birds, inspired in part by Christopher Wren’s St Paul’s Cathedral, sounds clear and crisp in the evening air.

Polwart’s lengthy, involving introduction tells the tale of how the wren out-thought the eagle to become the king of birds; the jumbo jets that periodically fly overhead, en route to Heathrow, provide an interesting counterpoint. The planes are thoroughly drowned out, however, by Billy Bragg , who good-naturedly moans that critics have accused him of “going country”. Along with his band, he plays a countrified No One Knows Nothing Anymore (“alliteration trumps grammar,” he tells us) followed by Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key, which is slathered in lovely, rich pedal steel. It’s one of many of Bragg’s Woody Guthrie collaborations of the night, as he celebrates Woody’s 101st birthday. “All you fascists are bound to lose!” yells Bragg, before leading his band into a rollicking performance. We might be at Waitrose-fest (the week has seen the consumption of “a tonne and a half” of artisan bread, apparently), but we’re most certainly not down with the EDL and its absurd Spanish ex-pat division. Bellowhead haul away for Rosie.

Photo: Simon Rogers Bragg uses variety to keep the momentum going during his set. There’s another Guthrie song – a children’s one, about wetting the bed – and a cover of the Rolling Stones ’ Dead Flowers, before he plays his own Handyman Blues, woozy and soulful. He’s not shy of his own hits, either – Sexuality is a treat, with the audience providing backing vocals as a matter of course. Karine Polwart returns to the stage to sing along on A New England, which is prefaced by a heartfelt, moving plea for the abandonment of cynicism. “Didn’t he do well?” asks Kew’s somewhat cheesy MC. Quite. With crossover success definitively achieved (Broadside crashed the top 20, let’s not forget), it’s a delight to see Bellowhead playing to such a large crowd. They’re born for it, too, opening with Hedonism’s Yarmouth Town and maintaining a furious pace throughout their frenetic, thrilling set. Recent singles 10,000 Miles Away and Betsy Baker are played early, and sharp-suited frontman Jon Boden makes a fine vocal impression.

He does ‘longing’ well – you can empathise with his heartfelt sighs over Betsy, and an impassioned performance of Fakenham Fair is also deeply impressive. The crowd do not take long to respond and are soon dancing with blithe abandon (hello, dance party-starters Emma and Ellen), particularly as the band begin to focus on their tunes. The Haul Away set (see video below, taken at the National Forest Folk Festival ) winds up the momentum, but interestingly it’s Sam Sweeney ’s bagpipe part in Unclothed Nocturnal Manuscript Crisis that really gets the ‘pit’ going. People like bagpipes! And Sam Sweeney, of course. Cross-Eyed and Chinless is another hit, Pete Flood ’s slippery, shimmering drums kicking off what turns into a mighty crescendo.

Honestly, and perhaps a bit unprofessionally, Folk Witness’s memory isn’t quite as sharp as it could be on this (we are quite drunk), but it’s impossible to forget the eccentrically-dressed Benji Kirkpatrick ’s foot-on-the-monitor antics, nor the uproarious singalong to New York Girls, nor the brilliant – and appropriate – London Town, with Boden holding a sustained “riiiiiiiiigs” for an absurdly long period. The finale of Frog’s Legs and Dragon’s Teeth is devastating, proof if any more were needed that Bellowhead are perhaps this country’s finest live band, in any genre. Our trip home is a confusion of missed trains, tiredness and lack of co-ordination, but we, and doubtless the rest of the crowd, are happy. Folk Witness thanks to Brown Brothers Wine , whose deliciously crisp dry Muscat is part of the reason this review wasn’t written until today Lady Maisery: This Woman’s Work When Folk Witness went to see Lady Maisery in Aldershot a month or so ago , the breadth and depth of the trio’s new material made a big impression.

So it’s great to hear that the group have released their cover of Kate Bush’s This Woman’s Work as a single. As a taster of Lady M’s forthcoming album, which is due in June, it’s a tantalising one. The harmonies of Hazel Askew , Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans are as central and distinctive as always, but Lady M seem to be making more of their instrumental talents this time round, and an apparently Scandinavian-inspired fiddle line helps drive the melody. “All three of us have always loved Kate Bush,” say the Maiseries (presumably in harmony). “We were struck by the way this song shows the complexities of the relationship between a man and a woman before the birth of their first child, addressing the possibilities of loss whilst exploring the situation from a man’s point of view. It felt like an unusual angle for a song, and Kate’s lyrics get straight to the heart of this very human relationship, illustrating the complicated gender roles and emotions at play.

Understanding the complexity of experiences like this is an important part of working towards more equal relationships between men and women.” Here’s a sneak preview: What’s more, the single has been timed to coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8), which in turn kicks off Women’s History Month . So it’s appropriate and pleasing that all profits from the single will be donated to End Violence Against Women , a coalition that does some highly commendable lobbying work. “We are all passionate about campaigning for women’s rights and promoting feminism,” say Hazel, Hannah and Rowan. “This is often reflected in the songs we’ve chosen to sing. We’re very excited to be working with the End Violence Against Women coalition and supporting the important work they do raising awareness about violence against women, lobbying local and national government and campaigning to protect women’s support services.” The song will appear on Lady M’s second album, which is due out in June, but this is a special remix by Andy Bell, so “waiting for album to come out” isn’t an excuse not to buy one, especially as it’s for such a good cause. You can find the song on iTunes – here’s a useful link.

Lady Maisery – This Woman’s Work on iTunes Incidentally, Kate Bush seems to capture folkies’ imaginations in a way that only seems matched in the non-traddy world by Tom Waits. Here’s Jon Boden & the Remnant Kings’ great version of Hounds of Love, just because. Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party: Orfeo The Hurricane Party: it’s an evocative name. You’d be forgiven for expecting a messy musical whirlwind. But the “fantasy folk band” – assembled by Fay Hield – is in fact evidence of her meticulous, scholarly approach to traditional music. Jon Boden , Andy Cutting , Rob Harbron and Sam Sweeney were chosen not for their musical versatility or individual talent (of which they have bags, naturally), but for their understanding and sympathy as a group. “I wanted people that would react with each other and make amazing music,” says Hield in the album’s EPK (below). And how they did. Here is my original review of Orfeo, the album they made together, but to reiterate: it’s a varied, lively and accomplished record.

The musical whirlwind is present, but from the complex opening track (which features Martin Simpson on banjo) to the homely, warming harmony singing on Pretty Nancy, it’s all exquisitely arranged and played. Crucially, Hield isn’t overpowered by her ensemble – far from it. Her voice is warm and strong, but her real skill is in interpretation and delivery. From her characterful telling of The Lover’s Ghost right through to the grim and gory finale of Naughty Baby (“Limb from limb at once he’ll tear you / Just as pussy tears a mouse”), she measures her performances perfectly. So while The Old ‘Arris Mill gets a saucy, charming delivery, The Cuckoo is imbued with a pure and clear tranquillity and Henry a haunting, ghostly quality. On this evidence, you suspect she’d make an excellent actress. Dr Hield read for a PhD entitled ‘English Folk Singing and the Construction of Community’ last year, and uses her keen researcher’s eye to unearth some less familiar pieces. But that doesn’t make them any less worth listening to.

So we get Wicked Serpent from Massachusetts, the magnificent 26-verse title track from a Breton lai , and Naughty Baby from The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. The latter’s tune borrows from the German national anthem (by way of the I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue theme), but its raked nyckelharpa still sends a shiver up the spine. Each track, you feel, is thoroughly inhabited and understood by Hield and the Hurricanes. But this isn’t a dusty academic exercise: there’s a joyous lightness of touch that truly brings them to life. It was a close-run thing this year – Sam Lee beautifully illustrated the magic of the oral tradition with the excellent Ground of its Own; Karine Polwart served up a thoughtful, luminous set of original songs on Traces, and Jim Moray delivered an inventive career best with the superb Skulk. But Hield and the Hurricane Party’s perfect storm just shades it – Orfeo is the Folk Witness album of 2012. Bellowhead: Broadside track-by-track It’s big, it’s noisy, it features cackling – it’s the new album from Bellowhead .

There are plenty of reviews out there, so I thought I’d try something different: here’s a track-by-track analysis of Broadside… Byker Hill (trad/arr Boden ): What a way to set out your stall. Perhaps the most well-known traditional track Bellowhead have ever tilted at, most will be familiar with Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick ’s mellifluous, meandering version. Here it’s a commanding, resounding prelude, “Byker Hill and Walker Shore / Collier Lads for ever more” becomes a mighty, defiant chant, while elsewhere the band hit us with all their instruments: a wash of brass, strings, pipes and drums all brought in at different moments, as if to introduce themselves. The volume is taken down for the funny, absurd line about Geordie Johnson’s dancing pig, as if we need to focus on that bit – which perhaps we do. Big, brilliant, inventive: this is a pretty good start, gang. Old Dun Cow (Harry Wincott): The key word here is ‘funky’.

Old Dun Cow is a funny old song, about a strange cast of characters drinking a pub dry as it burns to the ground (including “licking up the whisky off the floor” – we’ve all been there). Here, it sounds like it might be the theme to a 1970s cop show, complete with an outro where, having solved the crime (who burned down the pub, perhaps), sharp-suited Detective Boden (see video, below) and his wisecracking team dance out the end credits to an outrageous Brendan Kelly saxophone solo. It could happen. Roll the Woodpile Down (trad/arr Boden): A more traditional-sounding intro here, with lovely fiddle work balanced out by Paul Sartin ’s oboe. The meaning of this sea song is a little difficult to pick out as Boden races through the words (in fact, on all the tracks he seems a little deeper in the mix than on previous Bellowhead albums), but it’s a imbued with a sense of happiness, thanks in part to the massed vocal on “that fine girl of mine’s on the Georgia line”. You’ll be singing along come October, whatever it’s about.

10,000 Miles Away (trad/arr Boden): A feisty drum roll heralds the first single from the album. Perhaps not as immediate as Hedonism’s superb New York Girls (not much is, to be fair), but it’s another joyful number, this time marked out by Benji Kirkpatrick ’s irresistible, down-home banjo plucks. The narrator seems pretty jolly to be “off on the morning train”, and this is sure to be a dancey live favourite. There’s also a very enjoyable video (below) which features some excellent, um, acting from the gang. Boden’s suit is pretty nifty, too. Betsy Baker (trad/arr Flood): A heartstring-tugging, devotional love song, again accented by Sartin’s oboe, which seems to add love’s requisite melancholy. “I never knew what it was to sigh / Til I saw Betsy Baker”, sings Boden, pleadingly and movingly. There’s an inconclusive ending, as the musical drama builds you start to feel quite sorry for the narrator. Whoever she was, Betsy must have been quite a gal.

Black Beetle Pies (trad/arr Flood): A grim and gruesome tale that might even make Indiana Jones flinch. Black Beetle Pies is arranged with great flair by Pete Flood, and told with pantomime-y relish by Boden and sundry cackling voices. Boney percussion, woozy clarinet and parping helicon all add to a dazzling, sinister mix. There are hints of Madness and Ian Dury in its peculiarly British bizarreness, and it races to a thrilling, maniacal conclusion. Thousands or More (trad/arr Flood): It was a real surprise to see this on the track listing. When The Copper Family sing this (and they often do, it was Bob Copper’s favourite), it’s hard to imagine anything other than those time-honoured, heartfelt harmonies. Indeed, Bellowhead’s version begins in such a manner (though with unobtrusive squeezebox accompaniment from John Spiers). It sounds like a faithful, devotional tribute, but seconds in, whirling fiddles introduce a new, fast-moving motif, taking the song in a completely new direction. The tune is as uplifting and bright as the song’s words, and the chorus returns at just the right time.

It’s an inventive, unexpected take on a classic that remains sympathetic to the source material: totally different, completely brilliant. This is Bellowhead at their best, and it’s a joy to listen to. “Drive sorrows away”, indeed. Bellowhead: this is what they're doing right now Dockside Rant (Boden): Disappointingly this is the only ‘tune’ on the album, though to make up for that it’s a cracker, a little reminiscent of the group’s version of Foul Weather Call. While Boden’s jaunty composition perhaps doesn’t quite scale the heights of Burlesque’s Frog’s Legs & Dragon’s Teeth or Parson’s Farewell, from Hedonism, it’s a happy, dancey affair, with the steps marked out by Flood’s positive percussion. The Wife of Usher’s Well (trad/arr Flood): Another unexpected treat, here’s a version that sounds like no other. A portentous, operatic chant – Boden is only just the lead singer here – is set to a thumping beat and Sam Sweeney ’s sinister-sounding pipes. The effect is that the story is told at a relentless, unstoppable pace.

The “I wish the wind may never cease” verse takes on a spooky, almost Biblical sense of importance. Again, it’s such an appropriate treatment, you wonder why no one ever thought of playing it like this before. What’s the Life of a Man (trad/arr Flood): A fun, free-spirited arrangement that nods towards Bellowhead’s Brecht/Weill tendencies – the jolly music bouncing off the fatalistic, morbid lyrics. It’s my least favourite track – it doesn’t feel as inventive as the rest of the album, somehow – though Boden does get to exercise his vocal chords a bit more. Lillibulero (trad/arr Boden): This is more like it – an almost Pixies-esque quiet-loud-quiet song about messing with the Devil and winning. Every element of the band is in great form here, and it sounds just as fun as it does musically accomplished – ie very. Check out this, erm, thoughtfully made fan video… Go My Way (trad/arr Boden): Confusingly, this song mixes the regretful, lonesome Won’t You Go My Way with the carefree, rather more callous Saucy Sailor.

Although it consequently feels as though Boden is singing the lines of two different personalities, it somehow works, with the more carefree character winning out in the end. Musically it’s a marvellous way to sign off, a mixture of stately pomp and funky-disco shuffle, plus a big false ending and a sassy string-led outro. So there we have it. Broadside is a resounding success, in every sense. Ironically, it’s perhaps a little more hedonistic than its predecessor – it lacks the light and shade element quiet moments like Captain Wedderburn provided on their last album. But overall it’s another wonderful showcase from a band creaking with talent. Another big, noisy Bellowhead success. Broadside is out 15 October on Navigator Records Pete Coe is a great reminder of what one man can do with the tradition. He ambles on to the stage wearing his finest “flash suit” and, surrounded by instruments, simply begins to play. Pete Coe A simple, rather mournful version of Byker Hill gets the crowd singing along, and they never really stop, thanks in part to Coe’s entreatments, but mainly because of the relaxed, gigantic-folk-club atmosphere.

He nonchalantly switches between bouzouki, melodeon and dulcimer, and just as easily changes gears from ‘serious’ to rather more tongue-in-cheek songs. A version of Across the Western Ocean and another beautiful traditional track (I didn’t catch the title, but it cost Pete £500 in books to locate the tune, he tells us) illustrate his sympathetic, pure approach. But the crowd particularly enjoy some of the wittier, sillier offerings, notably a version of Vic Gammon’s unsubtle-but-effective Kings and Queens of England (chorus: Rule Britannia / Britannia waives the rules / Kings, Queens, jacks and knaves and tyrants / Cheats and fools). A ridiculous song about melodeon snobbery, set to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence, manages to amuse even those without much knowledge of the instrument. Coe builds a rapport with the audience easily, entertaining between songs with his dry, sarcastic humour, and kicking off a running joke by suggesting that headliners Spiers & Boden have nicked his setlist – or vice versa.

When he leaves the stage, it is to thunderous applause, and the poor MC has to rather sheepishly decline requests for an encore. Indeed, it isn’t long before the headline duo takes to the stage, kicking off with a thumping Tom Padget. Jon Boden takes to the wooden square with which he stamps out the pair’s percussive beats and… dances! Nothing spectacular, but an extra leg has definitively been added to his usual stomp. “Pete Coe taught me how to do that”, he explains. “Well, I say taught – I mean he took the piss out of me for not being able to do it…” Spiers & Boden Boden and his melodeon-playing accomplice John Spiers have been working together for more than ten years, and their complete musical understanding is evident. Boden picks up the guitar for a lovely, contemplative version of The Birth of Robin Hood, while the addition of a fourth tune to Vagabond’s frantic Three Tunes shows off his talent for plucking, as well as bowing, his fiddle.

Spiers, meanwhile, is fabulously dextrous, adding peeping concertina to the sinister-sounding Horn Fair and thunderous bass tones to the duo’s weightier numbers, for example on an excellent Brown Adam, learned from Martin Carthy. The duo’s talent for tunes and singing isn’t in question, but it’s their propensity for loudness that marks them out as the most rock and roll pairing at Sidmouth . During the raucous Bold Sir Rylas, for example, they ask the crowd for a “football chant” singalong, as opposed to delicate harmonies. “Just a series of vowel sounds will do”, adds a grinning Boden. The response, needless to say, adds a deafening note to the song, a strange, knockabout tale of pig-killing, otherwise played with nimble delicacy. And it’s the same with the encore of New York Girls, which startlingly doesn’t sound that much quieter than the full-on Bellowhead treatment. Earlier, Spiers spoke of the duo’s nervousness at supporting Brass Monkey in the same tent back in 2002. Ten years later, they were one of the week’s highlights.

“Today’s our tenth bedding anniversary”, says Fay Hield , mischievously, motioning towards a slightly embarrassed guitarist, fiddler and “beloved” Jon Boden . “We met at Sidmouth so I’ve got a warm feeling being back here.” Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party. Photo: David Angel That warm feeling (well, perhaps not that warm feeling) is shared around the Ham Marquee. Hield and the Hurricane Party are in great form, as you might expect from a band so loaded with talent, and on such intimate terms. Sam Sweeney and Rob Harbron are, of course, long-term Boden collaborators, while Andy Cutting is almost as ubiquitous (in a good way) as he is talented. At the centre of it all, of course, is Hield. And she’s more than a match for the band, with her lusty, Yorkshire-accented voice and easy command of the stage. As you’d expect, the group mostly concentrate on Orfeo, with a rendition of its 26-verse title track a particular highlight for the knowledgeable Sidmouth crowd. Their instrumental talents aside, the Hurricane Party make excellent vocal foils, too.

Pretty Nancy is performed beautifully, with delicate, original harmonies. And a tilt at Tom Waits ’ The Briar and the Rose – an oblique ‘version’ of Barbara Allen – is astonishing: delicate, romantic and sad. Here, Hield and Boden’s vocals are perfectly balanced. As well as her admirable singing technique, Hield truly gets under the skin of her songs, getting into the saucy spirit of the daughter in Tarry Trousers and inhabiting the character of the beleaguered worker in The Old ‘Arris Mill. It’s a remarkable set, and it’s very easy to forget this is the ‘support’ slot. Quite an act to follow, then, though Brass Monkey have 30 years’ worth of experience to call on. Opening with a salutary tribute to former member Howard Evans, the six-piece line-up (featuring Shane Brennan on trumpet alongside Paul Archibald) delight the crowd, maintaining the happy atmosphere as well as the high musical standard. Brass Monkey Here is a band that truly makes the most of its talent.

John Kirkpatrick leads an exciting performance of his own sheep-drama song George’s Son, based on chapter five of Hardy’s Far From The Madding Crowd (“look it up”, he insists), and a tense reading of Jolly Bold Robber, given spice by Martin Carthy ’s mandolin plucks. Carthy seems to relish the group dynamic, and responds good-naturedly to Kirkpatrick’s teasing over the amount of time he takes to tune up. His guitar adds depth and warmth to the band’s tune sets, while his vocals add an authoritative tone, as usual. He introduces Maid of Australia as “a love song” and, given the mischievous feel to the afternoon, it’s easy to believe he’s being cute – the song is usually a more bawdy, “I entered the bush” sort of affair. But his heartfelt reading, combined with a celestial, dreamy brass arrangement led by Brennan and Archibald, lifts it above mere smuttiness. As he sings, Carthy sounds truly besotted – it’s all rather moving. The band use their considerable volume to good effect. Roger Williams is a wizard, making good on Kirkpatrick’s promises that “you’ll never see a trombone slide move so quickly”.

Martin Brinsford, meanwhile, adds a funky clatter, despite his minimal drum kit, and reveals himself to be a masterful harmonica player too. After a finale of The Maid and the Palmer, the band are welcomed back for an exultant encore trio of tunes. There’ll be a DVD out soon, Kirkpatrick endeavours to remind us, but it’s worth getting the full experience if you can – 30 years of playing has made Brass Monkey into quite a force. Sidmouth Folk Week: preview When I first went to Sidmouth Folk Week it was as a teenager, before I had any real interest in folk music. My friends and I would just loaf about on the rocky beach, chatting, drinking and enjoying the atmosphere of the parades, dancing and general good spirits. As a relative grown-up folkie, Sidmouth has become one of my most looked-forward-to weeks of the year. Recently it’s put on some great shows, such the unforgettable, emotional return of Nic Jones to the live stage in 2010, and the brilliant revival of Peter Bellamy’s Transports folk opera last year.

Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson This year, with a the return of Alan Bearman as organiser, there isn’t a massive staged ‘event’ of this kind. But Sidmouth has still done well, most notably perhaps in hosting the welcome return of Norma Waterson . Norma will be performing with her daughter, Eliza Carthy , and the formidable Gift Band (Monday 6, 8pm, Ham Marquee) for the first time since she was taken ill in the winter of 2010. Her full-bodied-Bordeaux of a voice has been missed, and it will be a major treat to see her performing alongside her equally talented daughter. Eliza is in for a busy week. She’s also performing alongside her dad Martin (Wednesday 8, 12 noon, Ham Marquee), who in turn is playing with Brass Monkey (Tuesday 7, 3.15pm, Ham Marquee), with support from the brilliant Fay Hield and her Hurricane Party.

Fay is playing alongside Jon Boden (Monday 6, 8pm, The Bedford), who is, as it happens, doing a gig with John Spiers as well (Tuesday 7, 8pm, Ham Marquee). You get the idea. That’s to say nothing of a host of other brilliant acts such as Jackie Oates, Chris Wood, Martin Simpson, June Tabor and Oysterband, Edward II, Show of Hands and the delightfully named Whapweasel. Then there are the ceilidhs – look out for the mighty Blackbeard’s Tea Party (Monday 6, 11pm, The Bulverton) if you’ve got the energy – as well as the pub sessions, the stalls and the dancing. There’s far too much for me to cover, but I’ll be writing about my experiences here. I’m not sure I’ll be able to top this moment of Sidmouth magic from last year, when I somehow ended up playing in a handbell choir with this rather familiar-looking bunch.

I still tell people I used to be in a band with Martin Carthy… BIOGRAPHY | John Spiers John Spiers LINKS BIOGRAPHY John Spiers, known better in folk circles as Squeezy, has made a name for himself as one of the leading squeezebox players of his generation. Well known for his long-standing duo partnership with Jon Boden in the formidable Spiers & Boden as well as his contribution to the massively popular Bellowhead, John has also played with Eliza Carthy’s Ratcatchers and a number of local folk-dance bands. John was born in Birmingham, but moved to Abingdon in Oxfordshire at an early age where his association with the traditional folk music and dance of the region began. As the son of a morris dancer, it’s hardly surprising that this early exposure to folk music proved to be influential. Although he had a keen ear and always engaged with music through his childhood, dabbling with piano and guitar, a career in the music industry seemed unlikely. It was only during his time studying natural sciences at King’s College, Cambridge that John bought his first melodeon as a way of continuing to play music in a room too small to house a piano.

This chance purchase opened up a whole world of new music making and the early exposure to morris dancing suddenly found a context. Highly influenced by the recordings of John Kirkpatrick and with the generous support of the local folk club, his playing advanced very quickly indeed, making up for the late start on the instrument. Another very important development in John’s playing was the strength of the folk session scene back home in Oxford where music could be played socially four nights a week. It was here that John first met Paul Sartin and Benji Kirkpatrick who were later to become bandmates. Another chance encounter in a pub session led to the meeting with Jon Boden with whom he formed a duo and that’s when a career playing music began in earnest. Signed almost immediately to Fellside Records on the strength of one demo, Spiers & Boden flourished after the release of their first album in 2000 and began touring the folk clubs of the British Isles. During this first part of his career John also helped to run a folk instrument shop in Oxford which specialised in squeezeboxes where he learnt to repair and maintain them and developed a lifelong love of these fantastic and quirky instruments.

In 2004 the duo came up with the idea for Bellowhead as a one-off performance for the inaugural Oxford Folk Festival and the success of this single performance meant that the idea needed to be developed and the band began the process of further collaboration which yielded the first Bellowhead album released in 2006 to huge critical acclaim. Since then the band has gone from strength to strength, selling out the Albert Hall and hitting #12 in the UK album charts. John still lives in Oxfordshire with his partner and two children and is an active member of the local folk scene. A true enthusiast, his passion for music and bellows-driven instruments is only equalled by his passion for his allotment, cooking, making things out of wood, home brewing, the environment, gadgets and complaining about things on Twitter. John has always written tunes and music for the melodeon in the traditional style and many of them can be heard performed on the albums of both Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden as well as being played in folk sessions up and down the country and around the world.

He has only recently found time in amongst the heavy touring schedule to develop more of these compositions for performance as solo pieces and is keenly working on ways of marrying the infectious pulse of traditional English dance music with modern musical influences and take this vibrant music to audiences both at home and abroad. The Guardian said of his first low-key solo outing at Cecil Sharp House “An uncompromising approach, maybe, but it worked, thanks to his blend of elegant, rhythmic and virtuoso playing and easygoing folk club banter.” … “a quiet triumph!” Linda Thompson and Jon Boden: two generations of folk-rockers unite | Music | The Guardian Bellowhead Linda Thompson and Jon Boden: two generations of folk-rockers unite Island Records is reviving the pink label for a new wave of folk-rockers. 1970s legend Linda Thompson reveals what went on the first time round, and new signing Jon Boden of Bellowhead reflects on the modern folk scene Jon Boden and Linda Thompson. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian Bellowhead Linda Thompson and Jon Boden: two generations of folk-rockers unite Island Records is reviving the pink label for a new wave of folk-rockers.

1970s legend Linda Thompson reveals what went on the first time round, and new signing Jon Boden of Bellowhead reflects on the modern folk scene Thursday 25 September 2014 13.00 EDT Last modified on Thursday 25 September 2014 19.02 EDT Share on Messenger Close It’s late summer in the garden of one of London’s most celebrated folk clubs, sunlight pouring through the trellis on to two linchpins of the genre. They come from different eras: the younger man is bearded and gentle; the older woman wears white sunglasses and a sparkly blue jumper bearing the legend “Aloha!” Both are at the Troubadour to talk about the revival of Island Records’ pink label – a home for pioneering folk music and singer-songwriters in the late 1960s and early 70s – and reflect on the folk music they have made, and loved, through the decades. “I fucking hate folk festivals,” declares Linda Thompson, causing Jon Boden – ringleader of the 11-member-strong, multiple-award-winning group Bellowhead – to crease up. “It’s the camping”, she explains.

“People do it till they’re my age, pushing 70. I’ve been talking to some of them on Facebook, and they’re all: ‘We’ve been to Dartmouth, we’re going to Portsmouth, then Sidmouth.’ Jesus Christ, but there you go.” There is no better corrective to the tired image of the finger-in-the-ear folkie than Thompson. She released I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, one of folk-rock’s greatest albums, with her then husband, Richard, 40 years ago. An album of original compositions influenced by English and Scottish songs, it became a pink label touchstone, alongside pioneering records by John Martyn, Fairport Convention and Nick Drake. Now the pink label is back. Bellowhead’s latest album, Revival, was released on it in June, and their cover of I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight’s title track sits proudly upon it (it is also the B-side to their new single, Let Her Run). Adding extra brass, accordion and electric guitars, Bellowhead’s version remains a joyous celebration of the pull of the weekend, and getting good and drunk. Which is just how it was in the old days, says Thompson.

Pinterest The pink label began in 1967, and moved Island beyond the West Indian music Chris Blackwell had founded it to release. Blackwell wasn’t a folk connoisseur, Thompson explains; instead, he relied on the advice of his new friend, Joe Boyd. Boyd had engineered sound at the Newport folk festival the year Bob Dylan went electric, and had started producing records by Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy and the Incredible String Band after moving to the UK. For a while, he was also Thompson’s boyfriend. “Chris used to listen to Joe. And Joe would say: ‘No, Chris, they’re fabulous. This guy, Nick Drake, he’s fabulous.’ Chris preferred Bob Marley, of course. But who doesn’t?” Thompson is keener than mustard to demythologise those days. Blackwell would never have signed traditional artists such as Carthy, she points out (“more’s the pity”), and non-folk acts were released on the pink label too, such as Roxy Music.

“And of course, I never said this to Chris – I don’t care what I say now – but I thought Roxy Music were ridiculous really.” (Thompson makes sure it’s plain she’s a fan of theirs now.) Thompson will admit there was a pink label folk-rock mentality, however. People gravitated there because of Boyd, but there was also a tight friendship group within it – Thompson, the members of Fairport, Martyn and Drake would all hang out together. Boden leans in; he wonders how it felt being part of that. “I wouldn’t say I was excited by it, but I knew that lots of people on it were amazing,” Thompson replies. Then she smiles. “We used to have sing-songs in the studio, you know. Nick would sing a song, I would sing a song, Richard would sing a song, Sandy would play the piano …” Shy, retiring Drake with the raucous Sandy Denny? “Yes. It’s a shame the tapes were never on.” As for the material they made as individuals, Thompson was never confident about it. “I thought: ‘Nobody’s ever going to buy any of this.’” She looks at Boden.

“Except me, and you 30 years later.” Why has Island revived the pink folk label now? “Record companies are trying to cut their risk,” she says. “The folk demographic still actually buy records.” They would sign anyone these days, she hams: her daughter, Kami, is also on the label as part of folk duo the Rails. Pinterest Does that family connection mean a lot? Her teeth clench. “I’m terribly sorry, but it doesn’t at all. If she was making money, I’d be excited.” That’s the main difference in the folk scene these days, she says. “Back then, as long as you were good, it was easy. I mean, nothing cost anything. Now nobody will pay you.” Boden is less sure about why the label has been revived. Is it because Island wants to set the music of its new acts in a retro setting, perhaps? He’d like to think not, but he knows the label is conscious and proud of its history. He points out a website Island runs call We Are Folk , where newer signings are set against older acts such as Bert Jansch , Comus and Fotheringay.

Cynics will notice it features bigger Island bands, too, including Mumford & Sons and Ben Howard. Realists will note the original pink label also hosted Cat Stevens and Free. Boden got into folk-rock himself through a pink label artist, Denny, when he was a young rock fan: he heard her singing on Led Zeppelin’s The Battle of Evermore . (“Sandy used to drink with them,” Thompson gossips, “when John Bonham was the biggest drinker in the world. They’d come to our studios, and we’d all be on the floor, dying. Sandy would still be drinking.”) From there, Boden discovered Fairport Convention’s 1969 album Liege & Lief , another pink label classic, which married traditional music and rock, with old songs such as Tam Lin and Matty Groves gaining sharper teeth and thicker grooves. For Boden, Island’s pink label is a trunk from which different branches sprout, producing many successors; he mentions Martyn and Drake’s jazz-influenced guitar music specifically. Does he feel pressure for Bellowhead to continue the label’s legacy? His response is diplomatic.

“Well, the quality of those old records is overwhelming, and the quantity is quite overwhelming … but Island is a really big label now, with much more important people to worry about than us.” He insists that Bellowhead have the same freedom with Island as they did with their previous, smaller labels, Navigator and Westpark. Boden does think that the modern folk scene owes the early 70s a lot, though, especially in social terms. “To me, the 70s folk boom created a big social movement in a way that the pre-70s scene didn’t. Before that, folk was more about being cool and sitting in coffee shops, whereas the 70s was all: ‘Wahey, we’re going to be morris dancers!’” That’s definitely true, chips in Thompson. On holiday in California recently, she even saw some “bloody morris dancers in the car park!”. She will also admit that she is excited about folk’s future. “The energy these bands have! That’s not traditional for folk people, you know.” And she’ll concede – “Oh, go on then” – that folk festival culture plays its role. “I like people jumping around and having a good time.

Not being like me, with the stage presence of a totem pole.” Two generations of folk-rockers laugh loud and long; not a bad legacy for a label after all. • Bellowhead’s single Let Her Run/I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight is out now on Island. They tour the UK from 7-29 November, bellowhead.co.uk Jon Boden - Beverley Folk Festival Jon Boden Artists Jon Boden Jon Boden has become the stand out performer of his generation of traditional folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre. Jon Boden is best known is the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead. After twelve years, a quarter of a million album sales, seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and selling out hundreds of venues throughout the land and beyond, including notably the Royal Albert Hall, Jon announced in 2015 that he wanted to move on. The rest of the band decided not to continue without him. Bellowhead played their final gig on May 1st 2016. As a total contrast to the eleven-piece Bellowhead, autumn 2016 sees Jon launch his first ever solo tour.

His solo career goes back to 2006 with the release of his album Painted Lady (to be re-released with new bonus tracks in 2016 to mark the album’s tenth anniversary) followed by the critically lauded Songs From The Floodplain which led to him being named Folk Singer of The Year at the 2009 BBC Folk Awards. He has toured several times since then with his own band The Remnant Kings, but this will be the first time he has performed entirely solo. The show promises to incorporate elements from the wide creative span of his career to date – from the self-penned pop songs of Painted Lady, to the funked-up power-pop arrangements of folk songs that characterised Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden, to the post-Apocalyptic song-world of Songs From The Floodplain, to unaccompanied ballads as featured on his mammoth A Folk Song A Day project in which he recorded and released 365 folk songs in one year across 2010-2011.

Widely respected as an interpreter of traditional song, the solo shows will also showcase Jon’s instrumental talents on fiddle, guitar and concertina, as well as his trademark ‘stomp box’ which he and John Spiers introduced into to the world of traditional music in 2001. Through his solo work and his work with Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden Jon has won eleven BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – more than any other artist. His solo shows will provide an intimate insight into a man of many and various talents and promises to take the audience deeper into the song worlds of traditional music and of his own song writing. Jon Boden – Playpen Contact Jon Boden Jon Boden has become the stand out performer of his generation of traditional folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre. Jon Boden is best known is the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead and as one half of much-loved folk duo Spiers & Boden.

Widely respected as an interpreter of traditional song, his solo shows showcase Jon’s instrumental talents on fiddle, guitar and concertina, as well as his trademark ‘stomp box’ which he and John Spiers introduced into to the world of traditional music in 2001. Through his solo work, and his work with Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden, Jon has won eleven BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, more than any other artist. His solo shows incorporate elements from the wide creative span of his career to date; from the self-penned pop songs of Painted Lady, to the funked-up power-pop arrangements of folk songs that characterised Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden, to the post-Apocalyptic song-world of Songs From The Floodplain, to unaccompanied ballads as featured on his mammoth A Folk Song A Day project in which he recorded and released 365 folk songs in one year across 2010-2011. ‘The Ham also featured Jon Boden, formerly of Bellowhead, who was without a doubt the highlight of the week for us.

He held the crowd for over an hour and a half, alone on stage with his plethora of instruments…filled with a mixture of songs from Bellowhead, traditional folk tunes and songs from Boden’s solo career. He came back for two encores at the end – the first time we have ever seen this happen at Sidmouth.’ Culture Vultures review of Sidmouth FolkWeek 2016 Availability Jon Boden plays live on the Swan Theatre stage on Sunday 22 January 2017. | Royal Shakespeare Company Sunday 22 January 2017, 7.30pm Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Book tickets Jon Boden performs solo at the RSC for one night only. Jon is best known as the lead singer of the progressive folk big band Bellowhead, who split in May 2016, and he is touring for the first time performing entirely solo, presenting the self-penned songs of Painted Lady, material from Bellowhead, Spiers & Boden, Songs From The Floodplain, and his A Folk Song A Day project, in which he recorded 365 folk songs in one year.

Widely respected as an interpreter of traditional song, the show will also showcase Jon’s instrumental talents on fiddle, guitar and concertina, as well as his trademark ‘stomp box’ which he and John Spiers introduced into to the world of traditional music in 2001. Jon previously composed the music for our productions of The Winter’s Tale (2013) and The Merchant of Venice (2011). Through his solo work and his work with Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden Jon has won 11 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – more than any other artist. The show will provide an intimate insight into a man of many and various talents and promises to take you deeper into the song worlds of traditional music and of his own song writing. ABOUT JON BODEN Jon has become the stand out performer of his generation of traditional folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre.

After 12 years as lead singer of Bellowhead, a quarter of a million album sales, seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and selling out hundreds of venues throughout the land and beyond, including notably the Royal Albert Hall, Jon announced in 2015 that he wanted to move on. The rest of the band decided not to continue without him. Bellowhead played their final gig on 1 May 2016. Jon's solo career goes back to 2006 with the release of his album Painted Lady (to be re-released with new bonus tracks in 2016 to mark the album’s tenth anniversary) followed by the critically lauded Songs From The Floodplain which led to him being named Folk Singer of The Year at the 2009 BBC Folk Awards. He has toured several times since then with his own band The Remnant Kings, but this will be the first time he has performed entirely solo. You are in: Events Spiers & Boden • The Lights Book now Spiers and Boden play spontaneous, punky English folk.

Their loud, proud, theatrical stomping style is played with just a few acoustic instruments to present traditional stories and dance music which has taken them to the main stages of major festivals at home and abroad iincluding the Cambridge Folk, WOMAD and Larmer Tree. Winners of the Best Duo category at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in both 2004 and 2006, and a Critic’s choice nomination at the BBC World Music Awards, and nominees for the same award in 2009, John & Jon are also founding members of the wildly ambitious eleven piece big-band folk phenomenon, Bellowhead (BBC Folk Awards for Best Live Act in 2005, 2007, 2008, Observer Top 20 albums of 2007). They are currently Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank as part of Bellowhead, an appointment which has led to a series of performances on The Southbank including a sold out show by Bellowhead to over 1,000 people in the Royal Festival Hall Ballroom in on New Year’s Eve 2009.

They have also enjoyed a long-term collaboration with Eliza Carthy as The Rat Catchers and performed on her Nationwide Mercury Prize nominated album Anglicana. Roots Magazine Technically they stand head to head with the best of their generation...Jon Boden plays fiddle with an earthy vigour that's utterly compelling and sings in a frantic breathless manner as if the hounds of hell are taking lumps out of his backside, while John Spiers harmonises and plays urgent driving melodeon to a very high standard indeed...halfway to reinventing the style without even realising it… Event details · October 10, 2013 · SPIERS & BODEN – important news... Award winning folk duo Spiers and Boden have announced that their Spring tour next year (2014) will be their last together for the foreseeable future. They’ve played together for over a decade, were a key part of Eliza Carthy’s Mercury Prize nominated ‘Ratcatchers’ band and notably, were the movers behind the foundation of Bellowhead. It’s been the ever greater creative and time commitments with that band that has led to their decision to sp...lit.

‘Bellowhead has surpassed our wildest expectations’ said John Spiers, and at this time we feel it’s better to focus our energies with them. I’m very proud of what we’ve done as a duo and equally excited about what the future may bring’. Spiers and Boden first played together in 1999 with their first album ‘Through & Through’, released on the Fellside label in 2001. In 2002 they played on Eliza Carthy’s Mercury Prize nominated ‘Anglicana’ album and subsequently toured with her. The following year saw the duo win the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, scooping up accolades for Best Duo in 2004 and 2006. In 2004 whilst on tour together, they came up with the concept of Bellowhead. In 2011, Spiers and Boden released their final album ‘The Works’ (Navigator) – a critically acclaimed compilation of re-recorded tracks from their previous five albums.

In Spring 2013, Spiers & Boden undertook the innovative Backyard Songs tour, playing material relevant to each show’s environment and inviting audiences to contribute local songs, dances and folklore. ‘It has been a great experience – from playing the grass-roots folk clubs to putting on our own 10th anniversary show at the Shepherds Bush Empire’ said Jon Boden, ‘it’s been a tough decision to make but the opportunities that Bellowhead now offer are rare and juggling both has become increasingly difficult. We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us along the way’. For all media enquiries, please contact Harriet Simms at Glass Ceiling PR – 07958 539951 / glassceilingpr@btconnect.com /

Question: Which popular folk band is led by John Boden?
Answer: Bellowhead